New Jersey voters, by overwhelming margins, approve of the job Gov. Christopher Christie is
doing and want him to keep doing it for four more years, but they are divided on whether he
should run for president and whether he would be a good president, according to a Quinnipiac
University poll released today.

Garden State voters approve 70 - 23 percent of the job Gov. Christie is doing, continuing
his four-month string of +70 percent approval ratings, the highest score of any governor in the
seven states surveyed by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.

New Jersey voters seem to have little problem with a candidate for governor who is
overweight or a candidate who is a woman:

4 percent are enthusiastic and 64 percent are comfortable with an overweight candidate,
while 17 percent have some reservations and 4 percent are very uncomfortable;

17 percent are enthusiastic and 70 percent are comfortable with a female candidate,
while 4 percent have some reservations and 2 percent are very uncomfortable.

"New Jersey voters rate Gov. Christopher Christie's performance in Trenton at his now-
routine astronomical level. And they think he deserves reelection in November," said Maurice
Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"Would he shine as brightly in Washington? New Jerseyans' views are mixed. Ditto on
whether he should run for president in 2016.

New Jersey voters are divided on whether Christie would make a good president, with 41
percent saying yes and 44 percent saying no. Only 46 percent of voters would like to see
Christie run for president in 2016, while 47 percent want to keep him in Trenton.

"New Jersey has had a female governor, and almost all voters are OK with another
woman running the show," Carroll said. "And very few voters seem to have a problem with a
portly candidate.

In the New Jersey governor's race, Christie leads 90 - 4 percent among Republicans and
69 - 15 percent among independent voters, while Democrats go to Buono 53 - 29 percent. The
incumbent leads 65 - 21 percent among men and 55 - 29 percent among women, and leads in
every region of the state, including 48 - 36 percent in urban areas, normally Democratic
strongholds.

Christie gets a 69 - 22 percent favorability rating, including 48 - 38 percent among
Democrats. For Buono, 79 percent don't know enough about her to form an opinion.

In an open-ended question, allowing for any answer, 43 percent of New Jersey voters list
taxes as the most important issue in their vote for governor, followed by 41 percent who list the
economy or unemployment and 20 percent who cite education.

By a 64 - 30 percent margin, voters support a law allowing same sex couples to marry.
Men support same-sex marriage 60 - 32 percent, with a larger 68 - 28 percent support among
women. Support by age ranges from 56 - 38 percent among voters over 55 years old to 80 - 17
percent among voters 18 - 34 years old.

New Jersey voters say 72 - 22 percent it's a good idea to decide the same-sex marriage
issue by referendum on the November ballot.

From March 19 - 24, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,129 registered voters with a
margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia
and the nation as a public service and for research.

For more information or RSS feed, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, or call
(203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.

1. If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Barbara Buono the Democrat and Christopher Christie the Republican, for whom would you vote?

TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New Jersey today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? (*High also 71% Feb 1999)

13a. What is the most important issue to you in deciding how to vote for governor this year? COMBINED WITH: 13b. And what is the next most important issue to you in deciding how to vote for governor this year? (Note: Percentages add to more than 100%)